French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday that a “massive” security operation would be in place during further expected protests on Saturday after cost-of-living demonstrations turned violent across France over the weekend.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking to parliament on Tuesday, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez also announced plans to deploy military forces from Operation Sentinelle to free up police and gendarmes for the expected demonstrations.
Nuñez said their mission would be “to replace internal security forces mainly on static guarding duties” in order to “free up police officers and gendarmes to carry out public-order missions.”
Operation Sentinelle, launched in January 2015, has 10,000 soldiers deployed across France to defend against potential terrorist attacks.
Troops are usually stationed outside sites deemed sensitive, such as places of worship, schools, tourist locations, railway stations and airports. Sentinelle soldiers have previously deployed at events such as the Paris 2024 Olympics and the Paralympic Games.
Nuñez added that the aim on Saturday would be for security forces to operate with increased “responsiveness and mobility” in order to deal with “scattered” and “extremely mobile” groups.
The interior minister said he was also “considering the possibility of banning demonstrations that have not been declared and that could lead to public disorder.”
Demonstrations declared to the prefecture, as is required, could also be affected, but only where “the organiser or the security team do not give us reason to believe that the demonstration will not get out of hand.”
With regard to demonstrations that do not pose a risk to public order, Nuñez said it was “essential to prioritise routes away from public buildings and high streets,” as well as to “step up intelligence-gathering efforts in order to identify as accurately as possible the number of participants, particularly the most radical ones, so that security measures can be adapted accordingly.”
The minister also promised to show “resolve,” adding: “We will be there.”
